Going gets tough at home

New Delhi, Feb. 11: Car sales are set to enter the negative territory in fiscal 2012-13 for the first time in a decade, with slow economic growth and poor sentiment hitting demand.

The last time car sales witnessed a decline was in 2002-2003, when it dropped 2.09 per cent.

Industry body Siam has sought a reduction in excise duties in the budget and special schemes for commercial vehicles under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme.

"The way car sales are at the moment, we may not be able to meet the forecast of 0-1 per cent growth for domestic passenger cars we made last month. It will be in the negative territory this fiscal," said Vishnu Mathur, director-general of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam).

Siam's statement comes on the back of a 12.45 per cent decline in January sales ' the third consecutive decline since November.

According to industry data, domestic passenger car sales declined to 1,73,420 units in January 2013 compared with 1,98,079 units in the same month of 2012.

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